Philosopher Stone's Roots of Mana

"Please... help us save your kind."

I was taken aback by the sudden request. Everything seemed to be somewhat lax with the tension- but it had suddenly spiked again. Having reminded myself as to why we were here in the first place- I couldn't help but ask questions.

"Sorry... We can't just accept your request right away. Our Adventurers have long since disappeared after coming to this forest and we came her specifically searching for them... Not to mention, we've gotten split up from our own friends as well, and I've been nothing but extremely worried since... So, I have a request for you. Where are our friends, and what happened to those Adventurers?"

The red head was taken aback by my response. Whether I was harsh or not- I seriously couldn't care less. My friends are in danger, and Yuji and I are the only ones who can save them.

"I think I should explain this. But it'd be rude to wait here. Perhaps we could take you to our home and share this discussion over some tea?"

The blue haired asked- the purple seemed somewhat startled but, Yuji suddenly interjected.

"You fairies can be trusted. I've read a lot about you, and have always believed firmly in the folklore told of you. Not to mention, you five don't seem to be the type to deceive. As a knight, I can tell when an individual is lying. This isn't one of those cases."

I then took another glance around us. We weren't in any illusion, so they couldn't exactly deceive us like that. In fact, I pondered as to what actually disrupted the illusion at all. If what Noir said is true, then the fairy in black- the Spriggan, must have been able to dispel that magic himself.

"Then, please. Follow me into our home."

She said as she gestured towards the Demon Tree. I was confused, dumbfounded by the idea.

"Is it far from here?"

Yuji asked, as the five began to approach the tree. But our answers were shortly answered once the blue haired had placed her hand on the tree. The entire tree began to glow, and suddenly- it was as if a dome had appeared over the sky. It began to shift, as hexagons appeared in a blue that envisioned a different location, and as the hexagons began to dissipate, the blur had become more and more focused- revealing an extremely large interior. I was somewhat dumbfounded by the experience, glancing around as fairies flew about the place, entering different streets whilst some flew high up into the massive building.

"Welcome, to the Hollow Tree."

The blue haired stated gesturing to the general structure of this place. Now that I looked further, everything certainly was made out of wood whilst being refurbished by metal that looked completely out of this world! As if the metal itself was alive, coursing with magical energy.

"The Hollow Tree..?"

"Yes, this is what's inside that massive tree. To others, it could simply be the Great Tree of the Forest- but to us, this is where our home is."

The ground floor was immaculate, almost as if it was laminated wood. If I hadn't known any better, I would have assumed this was some sort of palace that was so large that it could feel like you'd be in the streets of a place like Rivdale Exis.

"Where will you take us now?"

Yuji asked, and the blue haired simply fell silent. She didn't walk far, as she had merely made it to what looked like a large clinic.

We looked at each other for confirmation, and we both nodded. We steadily approached- but upon entering...

"Oh? You're back Lady Anthesis, it's nice to see you all nice and well."

The fairy behind the counter spoke. Even the clinic itself was immaculate- though that was ofcourse to be expected of a place where health and hygiene was of most importance.

"Thank you Nurse Lana, we've come with two Adventurers. They're awake this time."

The blue haired, Anthesis, spoke, gesturing to us.

"Hello.."

I said, though I felt a little shy. This place was full of people I was unfamiliar with. I didn't exactly have an experience like this when being with Noir, he was often well spoken and often communicated with others around him. Being with someone as reserved as Yuji meant that the one left to socializing would be of course me. Almost a 180° in roles.

"I see, you two must be the most recent batch of adventurers... Sigh, if only we could leave the forest to warn you folk, but..."

The nurse seemed quite saddened, but what was interesting by that statement was that it sounded like as if they are bound by the forest... Just why is that?

"I've come to show these Adventurers the state of their people. Would you allow us to enter the bubble realm?"

"Of course Lady Anthesis. After all, you have been a great hand at saving these Adventurers, and your friends have been performing very well in fetching the required medication and ingredients to treat our patients. Your wish is my command."

As she said that, she moved her hand and a portal had opened. I was surprised- not by the fact that a fairy could use a dimension portal or even the fact that the location of our people were in a bubble realm- but more so with the fact that she simply moved her hand to gain access to one. From prior experience, it took extreme measures from our Guild Master to rip one open and Maru was limited to only using her own staff.

"That's a bubble realm. It's common knowledge that-"

As Kerian was about to speak, Yuji had interrupted him.

"It's alright 'Kerian'. I'm assuming that's your name... We've had first hand experience with several bubble realms."

"Ah-!"

Keriam was left speechless by the man who continued to walk forward. In the other side of the Bubble Realm was what appeared to be the inside of a building. It was a hallway, full of several doors. It was pretty smart using a bubble realm like this.

"The bubble realms created her is granted the power by the Demonic Tree, so every realm here is connected with each other. Even the fairy's homes are linked in one way or another, all whilst giving us all the private space we need!"

Yuri explained, which was quite handy information. The Demonic Tree is what provide's their home, all whilst they provide life to it and the forest. I'm somewhat amazed to their adaptability to being able to live in such an environment. Had it not been for the fairies, perhaps this demonic tree would have eaten up the forest a long while ago.

"So that large tree provides your homes?"

I asked, but Yuri seemed a bit confused by the question.

"No? That giant tree isn't the Demonic Tree, it's merely the shell of it."

"Yuri, they wouldn't know what the actual Demonic Tree looks like. After all, no human has even been conscious whilst making it here. These two are the first..."

The blonde fairy explained, to which the purple had looked as though she was cramming ideas into her head.

"Okay! I'll take you all to see the Demonic Tree!"

As she was about to waltz off, Anthesis had grabbed a hold of Yuri's collar, keeping her in place as she was lightly tugged on.

"Patients first, then the Demonic Tree. Don't go confusing our guests."

Anthesis folded her arms whilst Yuri was somewhat scared by the stern face Anthesis carried.

"You two, Adventurers. Don't act too irrationally."

The red head said, having been quiet this whole time. She had opened the door that was closest to us. As the door revealed the room inside us, we were taken aback by the sight.

An adventurer was asleep, with condensed magic that seemed to be providing air into their lungs. A fairy nurse was monitoring the patient, checking his heart rate which was stable at the moment.

"What happened to him..?"

Yuji asked, walking into the room.

"Ah, Lady Anthesis, Sir Kerian. The conditions of the Adventurer's are the same throughout, they're showing no signs of waking up."

Anthesis had looked over the adventurer before hovering her delicate hand over his head. An aura of blue was emitting into the Adventurer's head, as Anthesis had closed her eyes- concentrating her powers on her magic.

"Did that do anything..?"

She asked, pulling her hand away for a moment.

"Nothing has changed... it doesn't seem to be physical trauma. At the moment, we can only assume its a coma that was induced through magical means..."

My understanding of the situation had only been meddled ever more, growing ever the more confusing.

"Magic inducing comas? What kind of magic..?"

I asked, looking at the adventurer. If I wasn't mistaken, this was one of the adventurers that was helping fending off the Hob Goblin 2 months ago.

"The details are uncertain, but physical treatment has had no effect on the Adventurers. We've even tried using powerful magic to cure any status effects- but it seems whatever it is, it's outweighing both the physical and magical side of treatment."

Anthesis turned to look at all of us, but mainly Yuji and I.

"We have no leads, but you two are the first adventurers who had not fallen in deep slumber... As for your friends, we have assumed they were awake too- but they were nowhere to be found in the forest."

If they were to have disappeared from the forest... Did Maru save them by teleporting them? Or is it something we're missing?

"Then, we should look at the drawing board. What exactly happened to those adventurers and what were the causes that led to their lifelessness now?"

Yuji had interjected with an idea. Yuji and I aren't natives, but perhaps we could be of value by providing a perspective they would not have otherwise considered. Yuji's question seems to be about the cause of the fog and illusion magic. If it wasn't the Spriggans, then just what was it?

"When we entered deep into the forest, some sort of fog had descended. If it wasn't the Spriggans causing it, then what exactly was it?"

The lady of red seemed to know the answer, speaking up from her unusual silence.

"The fog that descends isn't casted by us Fairies. As for the reason why it is being casted... Well, there's a certain something that is causing the fog to descend."

Then, the Spriggans began to speak.

"Why don't we discuss this somewhere else? The nurse here is at work, and we've a lot to discuss. We won't be able to go into all the details in just a short time."

"Ah, yeah, that'd be a good idea Kerian. How about we visit my place?"

Anthesis offered.

We of course, accepted the offer.

In short, we were shocked to see the grand manor she had lived in. She had fairy butlers and maids who tended to her needs and even offered us drinks. The servants would refer to Anthesis as 'Lady' whilst Kerian was referred to as 'Sir'. Something about all this somewhat indicates their relationship to me.

"You two, allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Lady Anthesis. I'm a princess, though don't let my title bother you. It's merely a formal position as a pure Undine. This is my husband..."

"I'm Kerian. Though the princess is married to a common Spriggan, like me she has an older sister who is married to an Undine to keep her bloodline going."

Anthesis nudged her husband before he laughed it off.

"You make it sound like my sister did that for me. She fell in love with another Undine on her own accord okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Well, anyway, these are my friends that I had made over time."

"I'm Yuri, I'm an Imp, and probably Anthesis' best friend! I'd like to consider myself Kerian's rival hehe."

"Yuri- haven't you already surpassed me? Being a self proclaimed rival to me would only put you down..."

"Says the guy with a top record of swordplay! You're the one always getting the kills on Demon Level Threats!"

The two continued to bicker before the blonde on spoke.

"I'm Leila, I'm a Sylph and I've been friends with Kerian since childhood. With the amount of time I've spent with him, I think of him as a brother, and even think of Anthesis as my own sister in law."

Anthesis' face went a slight shade of red. Perhaps she enjoyed this feeling very much. Having friends so close that they're like family must be a special thing for a princess like her.

"I'm Reina. I'm a Leprechaun and have always been Anthesis' personal smith. Our connections have mostly been with Kerian and Anthesis, so it felt like fate when the two married."

The red head was reserved, but clearly enjoyed the presence of her friends. She kept her hands together and sat elegantly- perhaps even more so than Anthesis.

"You aren't just my personal smith nor maid Reina, I consider you my friend."

Anthesis had brought a smile to Reina's face, even her wings had spread out, reacting as if she was excited by the comment.

"I'm Blanc, and this is Yuji. We were set as the last adventurers to enter the forest... We can't exactly rely on back up, so whatever this problem is... Chances are, it'll fall into our hands."

I tried taking responsibility, and Yuji did too. Accepting the fate of our people's lives was something we did a month ago. While that situation may have been more serious, without fail, this was undoubtedly a much harder situation. After all, we had lost 3 of our friends and even that alchemist girl.

"Then let me remind you that you are in our hands too. We've pledged our loyalty to the Goddess of Paradox, and her will to help the humans is our will too."

The Goddess of Paradox... She's also known as the Dimension Goddess, referred to as the Divine Goddess Lucia. I don't know much about her religion nor about the people of her nation.

"Thank you, Lady Anthesis. With your help, I'm sure we'll be able to find some answers and to get to the bottom of this situation."

I felt somewhat relieved, having the 5 fairies as allies was something that couldn't have been better for us.

"Now that we're settled down, it's about time we explained the current situation."

"Yes, what is with the fog that has descended and why are people entering incurable comas..?"

Anthesis folded over her leg, and had begun the explanation...

"This forest was once the home to the Goddess of Paradox. Her temple was raised here and the fairies bevelled in its glory. She was a kind Goddess, and the fairies of course praised her as one.

Hearing the chirps of nature and the breeze of the freeing wind, the Goddess soon was met with another Goddess of Unparalleled Time. Though the details aren't known, the Goddess of Paradox had soon bade us Fairies farewell, and gifted us with an artifact that protected the forest.

For centuries, this artifact was placed into the temple and shielded the forest from the spirits of the night that would attack and thrive on killing.

One day however, an Alchemist had approached the fairies and thus, asked for an 'Elixer of Life'. Whatever the reason was- we had turned him down. After all, it seemed to be some sort of myth that the Fairies were wish granters.

That Alchemist soon grew impatient, and though he had once befriended the fairies, he soon betrayed the fairies with his pursuit for the Philosopher's Stone.

After a pure ingredient, it was then that he stole the artifact that protected us Fairies. What we didn't know was that the artifact left behind by the goddess was actually a seal for a demon gate... The fairies fought hard, and amidst all the chaos- the Alchemist was able to produce the perfect Philosopher's Stone.

But his actions did not go unnoticed. He was one day suddenly attacked by an Alf of the time, and she had devoted herself towards protecting the forest once more..."

Anthesis had waved her hand, opening the bubble realm back to reality. Through this portal, we could see a small tree that was growing- it had seemed as though it was encased in some sort of seal, and with a pure red stone hovering over it- light emanated from the bottom in the shape of glowing red roots.

"The Demon Tree was born as a result. If someone greedy removes the Philosopher's Stone, then the forest would in turn suffer once more. But what is clear is that the Philosopher's Stone isn't perfect... It's been 1000 years since those events, and it's clear that the power from the Philosopher's Stone is wavering."

She then waved her hand to close the portal, sitting back as she had a distraught look on her face.

"The instances of illusion magic is brought about by the Philosopher's Stone. It never used to do that, it merely repelled monsters from ever finding the tree itself. Someone... has grown an understanding to the Philosopher's Stone and has been sending humans to sleep and casting illusion magic to cause confusion amongst the fairies..."

Anthesis looked over to Kerian, who looked down.

"Two months ago, my kind were blamed for turning on the fairies. I had to prove our innocence... Though we're not completely trusted just yet, we've been the ones to aid the humans and keeping the fairies from fighting one another."

Kerian explained. It seemed like life had been tough on him recently. He folded his arms, laying back as he tapped his feet repeatedly- deep in thought.

"I can see why they would blame the Spriggans... but the fairies have always been at peace with each other... Isn't that the case?"

I asked.

"Yes, it has. The entire race of fairies were always entrusted towards protecting this forest. The Undines gift the forest full of life and the Sylphs grant Nature's bounty. The Spriggans and Imps protect the forest and the Leprechauns build and sustain the forest through magical ores that are healthy to its environment. Our work as the fairy race has always been for complete harmony. But... The Alves and Svartalves have been since extinct."

"The Alves and Svartalves... Noir mentioned those too, they're capable of wondrous things aren't they?"

"Wondrous may be an understatement. They were both races that directly served under the Goddess, but most of them left with the Goddess to undergo battle. Amidst the battle, the Svartalves turned on the Alves. Long story short, the Svartalves sought what no other fairies desired. Eternal Life, to ascend into Godhood... Though since that battle, we have presumed the Svartalves to all be dead, with the only Alf remaining being the one who lives a top the tree. She's referred to with many names, but she's commonly known for being the placeholder for our Divine Goddess."

It seems there were complications and war between fairies.

"There are two other fairies races. The Salamanders are brute yet kind fairies, but the idea of freedom had always perked their interests. Their home is far from here, but they were always kind to us as we have been to them. The same saying goes for the Gnomes who love creation. They yearned for their inventions to be worldwide, and thus had spread across the world. Of course, that did mean that the Leprechauns had to become knowledgeable in architect- but the fairies always believed in helping each other to achieve our dreams."

The fairy race truly is a wonderful population. If humans were as in tune with harmony as they were- then world peace would have been achieved long ago. But this doesn't exactly explain why this 'Philospher's Stone' has been inducing sleep comas and illusion magic.

"So... What's confusing me is that these two other races have been able to leave the forest... So why is it that the rest of you can't?"

"It's because of the Philosopher's Stone. It's magic doesn't allow us to leave, and those who enter are incapable of leaving. We're not sure as to why that's the case, but Yuri's sharp eyes were able to decipher the source of the magic."

"It's definitely the philosophy rock, after all- everytime the illusion descends the shape of red roots would surround the forest- extremely faintly. It's hard to see because of all the fog, but it seems that for whatever reason- the pillow rock wants to hide the roots. It's like it wants no one to know!"

Yuri's lack of wanting to call it Philosopher's Stone was quite adorable, actually. Her childish personality was a great match for this situation, considering how broody everyone had been.

"That's when I came up with the theory of someone using the Philosopher's Stone for themselves. After all, how could an artifact- or any object hold any form of intelligence..?"

Leila brought up that, though it was just a theory- it was clearly a highly plausible one. The Philosopher's Stone is regarded as an Alchemist's perfect ingredient. It can synthesize anything, so does that mean it could also be used to do anything? Considering it's powered by a Goddess's item, then perhaps it could be powered by man as it took a man to create it in the first place. In essence, it's something artificial compared to it's originally natural state.

"When Leila came up with the theory, I created an artifact of my own. It's engine functions similar to the Philosopher's Stone, and upon using Mana on it..."

As Reina hovered her hand over it, it sparked a little, creating what looked like an cycling flow of electricity.

"It's only a bootleg version of the actual artifact, but using Mana can affect what it does. At the moment, I made it so that small flows of Mana merely creates small harmless sparks. But if someone were to know the principles of the Philosopher's Stone, then its entirely plausible that they could've figured out how to trigger certain magic it creates."

Their practicality as a group was remarkable. It seemed that everyone catered to one role, and synergized beautifully. But at the end of the day, everything is mere theory. There is one way to discover more though...

"Considering Yuji and I haven't been affected by the sleep inducing coma, would it be possible for us to find this temple?"

"The temple..? It's nothing but ruins now, but..."

Anthesis placed her hand over her chin, thinking about it.

"The temple isn't outside the forest, it's due south of our home. It's a dangerous location considering it was the place where the Demons emerged from- but that may be a stronger reason to investigate it. All the roots seem to emerge from that temple alone... the issue is, well..."

"We would need permission to head into the temple. Chances are, the Alf Priestess will deny our request."

We all took a deep sigh, as if this conversation was taking us nowhere...

But that wouldn't be right. After all, we gained some valuable information. Perhaps we don't need to look into the temple at all.

"Actually... Uh..."

Yuji took one good look at me, and as if he read my mind- he spoke up.

"We must find our friends. If anyone could come up with a solution, it'd be our good friend Noir. More importantly, we happened to have befriended an Alchemist who came her to help her adventuring friends."

The fairies looked between each other, considering their options clearly.

"It's hard to find trust in Alchemists, but if you honest humans hold some level of faith in her, then we should go find them."

Kerian stood up, taking the decisive choice.

"B-but honey... Are you sure about this?"

Anthesis stood up too, wondering if it was a good idea at all.

I doubted Kii myself, but if we were to have a shot at saving these fairies and our adventurers, it'd have to be by the hands of someone who has a deep understanding of Alchemy.

"Anthesis... I know your concerns, but whether we like it or not, that Alchemist is our single best option to get out of this sticky situation. We fairies know nothing of Khemia, whilst an Alchemist would have all the resources to come to a conclusion as to what's happening with the Philosopher's Stone. If nothing else at all... The fairies and adventurers may not even have a chance to fix things. I'd rather help where I can. If I come to regret it, then that'll be down to the future me to deal with. I'd much rather go through that than to not help at all and regret it."

Making his point clear, the other 3 fairies stood up too, followed by Yuji and I.

"Then, let's get going. We're going to save everyone, right?"

I asked, and the other 6 all agreed in silence...

...

(Noir's POV)

I looked at my surroundings, and it was as if all the fog had cleared up. I wasn't sure what was happening but...

"Hey, Aster! Shouldn't we hit the road soon? Feels like Elizabeth would give us a right scolding if we don't hop to it!"

A familiar voice had reached to me from behind. I was caught off guard- and turning, I sunk my soul into the fact that what I had heard was indeed real.

"Hyouketsu... You're..."

"What're you looking stunned for man? Don't we have some errands to run? We can't just laze about all day, if we don't hop to it then we'll be kicked out as we know it!"

I looked down at my hands, realising just what it was that I was wearing. It was my school's clothes, and my friend of deep maroon hair was in those same clothes.

"This is..."

"Oi, oi, quit your day dreaming! Ayrandel and Seraphina are waiting for us to give them some lectures. We're valets to their pages, and being a role model is important dude. Can't fail on our first day, right?"

Am I... dreaming... or is this real..?